I am still employed

and even though I'm not scheduled for a lot of hours, I pick up co workers shifts when they call out or something similar and I end up working more hours then scheduled. For example, 2 weeks ago I worked 5 days in a row and 3 of those days were days I wasn't scheduled. A good co worker friend of mine who I built a solid bond with, quit last week and I miss that person a lot. I helped them go to the right place during the group interview and we were there together. Since we got hired we made a semi pact to have each other's back and things grew from there. Sure I have their # but they are one of those people that reply back 4 days later if at all plus it's not the same as seeing someone in person. So I probably have blown it with that person who is now my ex co worker. Oh and the last time I saw them, love story by taylor swift came on the store's muzik and they sung it well buttttt that song now reminds me of them and next time it comes on I'll probably cry(not really) but I am having a tough time handling this sudden departure of a co worker. Yes I know turn over is high but I didn't expect it so suddenly from this person

I don't handle change well and for some reason the 99 cents store got rid of the display box of top ramen chili and I hope they didn't stop stocking it as it is my favorite, I miss my grandpa and that depresses me and it's been a year since he died and I wish he was still alive. I was supposed to hang out with my friend this summer but she moved to another state even though we planned as recently as last week to spend time together. My good friend hasn't talked to me since august of last year and my other good friend isn't replying to anything. My parents are going to mexico next week and I hope I don't spend all that time alone as it will be very depressing especially when I'm alone with my thoughts

Retro saturdays and palm pilots

From around 1997 to 2001 or so(give or take a year) palm pilots were to pdas what pagers were to the early 90 to mid 90's. They instantly made you cool and look like a big shot even if you used one to write down your shopping list or played solitaire. The term pda means personal digital assistant and palm was the name of the brand that made pilots aka palm pilots, got that? good because palm pilots were THE most popular brand of pdas in the late 90's. I did want one but they were too expensive so I mostly used store displays. I knew they had a built in calculator and memo pad aka e-paper, phone book, world time, clock, extra fancy and extra expensive add ons let you connect to the internet, send and receive emails, send and receive faxes, play games

I got one last year and I'm not sure why I wanted one so bad in the late 90's, maybe because it was the "cool" thing and it was a fad. It's funny the way the mind works, in case your wondering, smart phones replaced the palm pilot and it can do almost everything(except send/receive faxes maybe) in a smaller easier to use package

Retro saturdays and choker necklaces

When I hear the term choker this is what comes to mind and not the act of choking. Made popular in the mid 90's by NIN and the goth culture, chokers were everywhere even among edgy non goth teenagers and kids and it is coming back recently again

There isn't much to say about a necklace with loops but it stayed around until the early 00's and poof it was gone just like that

Retro fridays and the jurassic park arcade game

Released in arcades a year after the movie release of jurassic park 1, jurassic park the arcade game became an instant hit. Who wouldn't want to explore isla nublar and fight a t rex(or 2) and try to survive. But what made an impact to me and many other kids is the sit down display more specifically the one that looks like the back of a jeep wrangler. The back half of a jeep isn't just for decoration either as it has hydraulics built in so it moves up and down when you play. This simulates a bumpy ride and was mind blowing to many kids

At the arcades I could never beat the game as some sections are pretty tough and I usually spent $1 or $2 at most so I wasn't a big balla to have enough $$ to beat the game. I did beat it a few years later at an arcade that had it set to free play and it is quite an accomplishment. Sure the graphics may seem dated today but the gameplay is really addicting

It is well worth a play through especially if you like dinosaurs or arcade light gun games

Retro fridays and space goofs

For some reason I don't remember much of space goofs even though I used to watch it a lot during it's run(although I taped new episodes as I was in saturday school). I made it my weekly sunday morning/afternoon tradition to watch the newest episode of space goofs I taped and then I would lol the day away. Ok enough of my childhood memories, space goofs is a cartoon that stars 5 aliens that crashed into earth and spend the series trying to get back home. They have a tv remote that lets them shape shift and the whole series seems to be parody ren and stimpy

Like I said, I don't remember much about space goofs, I vaguely remember the theme song and I mostly remember it was on saturday mornings and was mostly aired in 1997 but it was fun while it lasted

In case your wondering why I didn't post yesterday

I have been working for the past 5 days and yes that is in a row. I was originally scheduled for 2 days but a co worker offered me their shift so I worked 3 days in a row. Then on the 3rd day another co worker offered me their shift and I took that and now worked 4 days. Yesterday was my day off then I got a call and I said yes so here I am working 5 days in a row. Today is my day off then back to work tomorrow so I didn't forget about retro satuday, I just have been too tired/busy/going to the store to post from my laptop

I still have more material and yeahh that's pretty much it

Retro fridays and y yo sigo aqui by paulina rubio

If you haven't heard of this song or paulina rubio, it's ok it happens. Anyways paulina rubio is a mexican pop star who is still popular and y yo sigo aqui was her breakout hit in 2001. It had auto tune before auto tune was cool or well used. Anyways the song itself is pretty standard pop fair but what drove me and other guys to paulina is the music video. It has some redonklously dirty dancing with paulina in a wife beater tank top(white) and she lifts it up and almost takes it off

It also doesn't help that this song was constantly on spanish language radio channels so I would frequently hear it when I would go for a truck ride. There is also a somewhat less risque version of the music video that takes place on the beach in case your wondering. The song quickly lost it's luster and most people have forgotten about it but not me. Sometimes I'll listen to it and I'm reminded of those trips to food 4 less or to walmart or to target

Here's the link to the video

retro fridays and tips & tricks magazine

If you grew up in the 90's then you already know the internet wasn't like how it is today. For those that didn't well it wasn't like how it is today. You couldn't just look up cat videos or a walkthrough of a zelda game or cheats for a super nintendo game. If you wanted to use cheats in mortal kombat 2 then you would get a tips and tricks magazine aka the gamer's cheat guide or the mag that would make you popular on the playground. Tips and tricks magazine is a video game magazine that had it's hay day in the 90's as it seemed to be a product of the times. Half of the magazine was tips/walkthrough/maps for a game while the 2nd half was a cheat code list. It was organized by system and there was a lot of games for those systems. It was great in a pre internet world when you could bust out a tips and tricks magazine and look up cheats for twisted metal 2 or ridge racer or mortal kombat 3(yes I know I keep mentioning different games) I had one issue and that lasted me awhile and when there was a new game that I wanted cheats for I would get a lot of notecards

This is where my 90'sness shows, I would go to albertsons and write down cheats for a new game in the newest issue of tips and tricks magazine(it was $4.99 so I wasn't buying it) on a note card then copy those cheats onto 4 different papers just in case. Nowadays I can just type the name of a game and cheats into google and look them up right away. Old habits die hard and at times I miss those days of tips and tricks magazine. It left an impact on a generation of kids

I find it hard to believe that girl meets world ended

Maybe some day I'll review all the episodes similar to how I did with the wonder years since it had a short run. That sums up the show nicely, "short run" and I firmly believe it ended before it really came into it's own. The 2nd season is where the show started hitting it's stride but it ended way too quickly (like my last relationships) and it's also where the intro changed to something that paid homage to the last few seasons of boy meets world. I have seen the last episode and a lot of the guest stars/previous cast members from boy meets world all made an appearance and it felt powerful. The show ended on a cliff hanger and that was that, just like when boy meets world ended and I thought that was the last I seen of corey,topanga,shawn and mr feeny, this might truly be the last time I see maya and riley and topanga and corey and mr feeny and shawn for the reals this time

Unlesssss netflix or hulu pick it up and have it as an exclusive similar to fuller house but that would take a miracle at this point. It seems like just yesterday girl meets world premiered and now it's gone, this is why I am single even though relationship statuses have nothing to do with a tv but it does make a good metaphor "things are gone before you know it" I just wish girl meets world could have lasted a little bit longer

I have been single my whole life on vday

Ok let me explain a bit first, my high school years was where I spent most of my time dating and in relationships if you can call it dating by which I meant meeting up somewhere like the mall and being awkward. I had a lot of gfs my senior year yet I didn't have a valentine for vday or a gf for that matter. After high school I didn't have a gf (I still haven't had one, my single streak continues) and it's funny how life works out. I have had a half assed "I'm only had a valentine "because I pity you" valentine back in 2008 and that about sums up my love life or lack of it

Yet I'm not bitter about vday. I have been single longer then most people complaining about it, I work today(closing) and most likely tomorrow too so I will bring donuts from dunkin donuts to my co workers and work hard and that's it

Retro saturdays and killer instinct 2

Killer instinct 1 was the right game when released and since it was a mega hit of course there had to be a sequel. Released in 1996, KI2 was bigger, badder and more 90's then the original. The graphics were improved upon the already amazing ki1 and the characters seemed to be bigger and the announcer was more hyper active. The music was more xteme and the last boss was cheaper and harder to defeat

I spent many quarters trying to master sabrewolf and orchid but I could never get as good as some arcade players. Also it was always crowded and the people that played were extremely good. There isn't much else to say about ki2, it was released for home consoles on the n64 as killer instinct gold and there is a port for xbox one. Now I feel like playing ki2 at an arcade for old times sake

Retro saturdays and smucker's hard shell for ice cream

Smucker's hard shell is exactly what it's name suggests. It's sold in a squeezable container similar to chocolate sauce and it even looks like chocolate sauce coming out but once you put it on ice cream, that's where the magic happens. Rather then staying in a liquidy form, it hardens and forms a shell on top of your ice cream which you could smash with you spoon to have pieces of chocolate in your ice cream. Growing up I used to always get this at lucky's and I spent many times in summers pouring a liquid shell on my ice cream. It amazed little kid me and it still amazes me now

There are many flavors that were released throughout the years but the original chocolate version is my go to favorite. It started out in 1997 and quickly became a hit then petered out by the mid 00's but I still remember that hard shell for ice cream

Retro fridays and doll parts by hole

I'm not sure what it is about this song but it has the quintessential 90's alternative feel to it well because it is from the 90's. It was usually in the background in my childhood on a slow sunday or saturday while I played with my hot wheels and micro machines outside, often I would pretend my lemon tree was a jungle and lady bugs were eagles and flies were wasps, rollie pollies were tigers for some reason. The song has a soft relaxed vibe and courtney love sounds like she's going to cry at any moment

When your in the right mood it sounds so amazing and yes it still holds up well. If you have the time give it a listen, there's no bad words or random shouting, it's a simple almost acoustic style song that really hits you. Here's the link to the video

Retro fridays and afternoon cartoons

One thing that is missing from modern tv is cartoons in the afternoon/evening. I'm not talking about cartoon network and nick but over the air rabbit ears channels. I used to rush home from school to watch things like mmpr and bobby's world and eek the cat and animaniacs. Networks(especially fox) used to know their audience and ran a block of kid's shows right when they would get out of school. This is why I didn't need cable growing up as networks had me covered. It's also probably why there was a generation of kids that did their homework at night

I'm not sure what is on in the once coveted 2-4pm time slot but it's not the same as it was in the 90's. This is why kids would rather play on tablets/watch videos on a computer then watch tv

Retro fridays and universal studios hollywood

This post is more specific to me unless you happened to go to universal studios hollywood in the mid to late 90's with a heavy emphasis on the mid 90's. The last time I went to universal was in 1997 and I still have some fond,vivid memories of my time. I don't remember the car ride to the theme park or that we parked in a parking garage, I do remember walking through the boardwalk and seeing all the stores and stopping to take a picture with the giant guitar by the hard rock cafe and the giant globe with a water fountain. I made a mental note to check out the (what I assumed was a discovery channel) science store on my way out, by check out I mean ask my parents and hope they'll wait for me and/or we all go in together. I don't remember how much tickets cost or even going through the admission gate(yes we did pay) I had sensory overload and couldn't make heads or tails of where to go or what ride to go on

Nowadays the park would be full of minions but back then there wasn't much costumed actor walking around, I did see beetlejuice and bride of frankenstein and a mummy so that was nice. I saw a ferrari 308 that was used in an 80's tv show(I think it was magnum pi) and I went to go see a beetlejuice show. It was onstage and a song and dance thing with fog and strobe lights that I wish it was still around. I went to a bird show(I don't remember that) and I went on the tram ride that is still operating. I saw the clock tower from back to the future(it burned down then got rebuilt) the shark from jaws, king kong(he also burned down then got replaced with a new look kong) cars from the little rascals and the flintstones movie and the A-Team van. Before that tram ride I went on the back to the future ride. It's a delorean that is on hydrolics and has video screens inside to simulate movement. The line to the ride was full of tv screens with doc brown on them. In the ride itself he is the narrartor and you travel back in time. It's sad that the bttf ride is gone as it was a pretty unique experience

One thing I did go on that is still around is the waterworld show, it had a big pit with water(a pool)  and explosions and a downed plane. I can go to universal today and still see the same show as I did back in 1997. My last memory is the way home, I did get to go to the science store as I call it and I bought a science kit for $5. I was amazed at all the little trinkets and knack knicks like magic kits and um...I don't remember much else from that store. I'm not sure if it still exists as I haven't gone since that magical day. Oh I do remember there was a lot of ads for beverly hills ninja and leave it to beaver

Of course not everyone went to universal studios hollywood in 1997 so this post may not apply to you but I hope I painted a good picture. One last thing, I saw a goth girl with a NIN shirt and bondage pants and that blew my mind

The 99 cents has various lego dimension toys

Well they have started selling them a few weeks ago and they have become my newest collecting obsession. I already frequently go to the 99 cents store for snacks/drinks and this only got me more familiar with the cashiers and stockers. Ok the 1st time I saw lego dimensions toys at the 99 cents store I only saw a shelf of homers and figured they were $1.99 or 2.99 so I only got one. When it rang up at the register at 99 cents well I went back and bought 2 more. I would return again in 2 days and I got a scooby doo and lord of the rings ones. I would come by every few days and they always seemed to have new stock. Except this week it hasn't been restocked and I hope it hasn't stagnated

Anyways I have built up a good sized collection and I have: scooby doo,jurassic world, emmit, the kat from the lego movie, the spaceman from the lego movie, bad cop, lotr grimmlie,legolas,gollum, various ninja legos,krusty,bart and homer, wizard of oz, portal and others I'm forgetting

People don't seem to realize the value on these has gone way down thanks to the 99 cents store flooding the market. It makes me laugh seeing someone trying to sell a pack for $10 or even $5 or $3 as it's hard to miss the memo about these being at the 99 cents store. I saw someone trying to con people by saying it's to teach their kids how to flip things. They sold also teach them supply and demand

From what I seen, I need nya from lego ninjago, the back to the future and dr who sets and yes I am willing to trade for them. I have bart,lotr legolas and grimmlie, cragger,gollum and I can get other ones. If your interested let me know

If you're going to do a return

Please PLEASE keep your receipt and bring it with you when you do a return. It saves everyone a lot of time and trouble especially the people behind you. Yesterday on super bowl sunday it was extremely busy and under staffed, I got called in and so I was working on my day off. Things went from bad to worse when some of the card readers didn't work and a register froze. Luckily people wanted to watch the super bowl and the rush eventually slowed down. Oh I kept telling everyone that the patriots would win because I'm psychic(not really) and hey look who was right

Retro saturdays and playing in the street

Something that modern kids don't do enough is play in the street/alley. I'm not talking about busy 4 lane streets but small suburban streets where hardly any cars go by. When I was little, me, my brother and my neighbor would ride our bikes around the street and jump over things. Sometimes the neighborhood kids would join us and we would go to lucky's(super market) and just goof off. Our neighbor who looked a lot like david hasslehoof and never wore a shirt, made us a ramp one time out of wood(yes I still have it) to jump off. Sadly we would grow up and go our separate ways but the memories of playing have stuck with us

Maybe because helicopter parenting has become the in thing and cell phones/computers/tablets have taken over kids times, but kids don't play as much in the street as I used to. I also didn't get approached by a stranger or almost hit by a car, it was a simpler and safer time and my mom didn't helicopter parent and I turned out ok

Retro saturdays and hydro thunder

HHHHHHHYYYYYDDDDDDDRRRRRRROOOOO TTTTTHHHHHHHUUUNNNNNNNDDDDDEEERRRRRRRRRR


That's how the arcade and the home console ports announced themselves at start. Right away you knew hydro thunder was a different game. It was released in the early 00's and set a tone for arcade games as it was about boats. What blew me away were the graphics and the intensity of the background. You couldn't just take it in all at once you had to have someone point things out for you. For example there are penguins and swimming crocs and sunken cities and ufos. Anyways it's a typical arcade racing game with cool graphics and unique levels that make it a must play

A reminder of some things that happened in 1997

I already covered some of them in retro friday/saturday(aka slowdown saturday) but anyways here's some things that happened in 1997 and it's hard to believe that was 20 years ago


Mmbop being released, The marlins winning the world series against the indians, the bulls almost won 70 games again and won in the finals against the utah jazz. Mike tyson bites the ear off evander holyfield,interleague play in baseball starts, the yankees dynasty is in it's infancy. The packers beat the patriots in the super bowl, Wannabe by the spice girls is released, notorious big is shot dead, shaq is on the lakers, ozzfest starts, 98 degrees and have the backstreet boys released a debut album(starting the trend of boy bands)

The montreal screwjob happens at survivor series 1997 and it is also the last time we see brett hart in wwe for more then a decade, Final fantasy 7 comes out and changes the console wars and rpgs, notable games released are: tekken 3, mario kart 64, castlevania:symphony of the night. mega man 8. goldeneye, grand theft auto 1, mortal kombat 4, crash bandicoot 2, gran turismo 1, diddy kong racing, parappa the rapper, tomb raider 2, the snes mini and game.com are released with one being a huge failure, beanie babies were all the rage among with alien and ufo merchandise, and giga pets and tamgotchis and spice girl lollipops, batman and robin was released and flopped same with george of the jumgle.

Titantic was the blockbuster among with men in black and la confidental. For lesser known movies there was: flubber, leave it to beaver, beverly hills ninja, turbo power rangers movie, home alone 3, mouse hunt, hercules, austin powers, shaq in steel, jungle 2 jungle, con air, air force one, the saint, spawn and american beauty

Chris farley died as did princess diana, bill clinton is president and the economy is doing great, A sheep named dolly is cloned, steve jobs returns to apple computers, the lost world jurassic park is released, Selena the movie is released, the smashing pumpkins are in they're prime, south park gets it start, malls are still popular, orbitz soda is still selling, kb toys is still in it's prime, Arcades were still popular hang outs and it's where I spent a lot of my time. EGM2 and other video game magazines were still around and I would always go to the magazine rack, Lastly, the world was more carefree and I had a subscription to disney adventures magazine and was huge into goosebumps books and toys r us

Retro fridays and alive by p.o.d

Released in 2001, alive by p.o.d(notice the periods, it's prounced P/O/D not pod) is a typical radio friendly single that quickly got forgotten about by edgy kids/teens but not me. I still remember when it dropped though. So many kids thought they were so cool for listening to p.o.d and alive was the cool song. If you listen to it then you'll probably remember it and if not then give it a listen(here's the link) It's a safe for work song and so is the band and I believe they had religious undertones but anyways just as quickly as p.o.d burst onto the scene, they were quickly forgotten about although they did have 2 hit singles(youth of the nation being the other)

retro fridays and incite magazine

Most likely if your reading this you have no idea what incite magazine is(was) and that's ok. Incite magazine was a video game themed magazine that launched in 1999. The 1st issue cost 99 cents and I got a copy at rite aid and yes the cashier was amazed a 270+ page magazine was 99 cents. Oh and the rock was on the cover. It was started by some former writers from gamepro and focused on video games and wrestling and it would have interviews with celebrities

It was later split into a home console magazine and a pc magazine that came with a demo disc. I would pick up an incite magazine whenever I was feeling bored and I owned the 1st issue and the lennox lewis issue and the one with hugh jackman on the cover. Incite magazine was short lived but I still have fond memories and it's an interesting read if you can find an issue